Five decades after the future of plastics was extolled in the famous 1967 film “The Graduate,” the U.S. manufactured 36 million tons of the stuff in a single year– 17 times the amount produced when the movie was released.
But as demand for plastics has grown, so has concern over the waste, reports The Wall Street Journal (April 24-25, 2021). More than 90% of plastics generated in the U.S. each year winds up in landfills or incinerators. Only about 9% is recycled.
The largest category is containers and packaging, including water bottles, milk jugs and detergent bottles. In 2018, more than 14.5 million tons was manufactured, but less than 2 million tons, or 13%, was recycled.
Plastics that have the potential to be recycled are stamped with a triangle made of three arrows enclosing a resin-identification code—a digit from 1 to 7 that indicates the type of plastic—but the presence of the emblem doesn’t guarantee the waste will be reused, even if it makes it into a recycling bin.
“People think a lot more is being recycled than is actually being recycled,” said the author of “Can I Recycle This?” “Most of it is low-value and doesn’t have a buyer.” From the curbside, it’s generally the 1s and 2s and some of the 5s. Anything else, recyclers have to pay to get rid of it.
In the past, the U.S. shipped low-value plastic waste to China, but in 2017, China said it would ban the import of most plastic waste, causing the market for those plastics to dry up.
No. 1 plastics, including water bottles and clear plastic cups, sell for 13 cents a pound. Clear (meaning undyed) No. 2 plastics, including milk jugs and shampoo and detergent bottles, fetch 60-70 cents a pound. And No. 5 plastics, including yogurt containers, prescription bottles and bottle caps, draw 30 cents a pound. So there’s a great future in plastics–as “The Graduate” tells–but only if the waste can be managed.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Give some examples of how companies can be less wasteful in plastic use. (See Supp. 5–Sustainability in the Supply Chain).
- How can we, as consumers, use less plastic?